Without hitting too many specific issues, I'd like to voice my opinion that the church is losing its voice in society, but not for the reasons we think. Evangelicals have made claims that the world is losing respect for Christians because they have a low view the Bible, morals, traditional families, or all of the above. It would be convenient for us to claim that the world has turned on us because we are different, but I am not so sure that is the case. Right wing, ultra-conservative Christians have tried to claim that there is a war against Christians (and Christmas for that matter), but I think this may be a major overstatement.
I would offer that the reason Christians are losing their voice is because far from being different than the world, we have become all too similar. Our families look more or less the same as non-Christian families, our spending habits and business practices are almost no different from our secular counterparts, our views on most moral issues (except abortion and gay rights obviously) are no different than the general populations. We drive the same cars, live in the same neighborhoods, go to the same gyms and watch the same movies.
Now some of those similarities are innocuous enough (heaven forbid if all Christians all move into one neighborhood together), but we are a far cry from what I believe Jesus calls us to. In Matthew 5:16, Christ calls us to "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Furthermore, the Apostle Paul exhorts the Philippians saying,
Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:14-15)
I would offer that there is a major problem when Christ's ambassadors to the world appear just like the "crooked and twisted generation"? If such a unique and supernatural thing as conversion has occurred in the lives of believers, than why does nothing appear different? I think if we examine the context of Paul's letter to the Philippians, we might find some help.
We must remember that Paul is writing this epistle during the time of Roman Imperialism. Rome has occupied nearly all of the Mediterranean world, and thus the church at Philippi would have well known the distinction between a Roman citizen and a native person living in a territory conquered by Rome. These citizens had certain privileges and rights that were endowed to them by the government. Though he himself was a Roman citizen, Paul writes:
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27)Translators have never been able to capture the full meaning of the phrase they translate as "manner of life." The Greek word used here is politeuomai (πολιτεύομαι), which means to behave as a citizen. I think this beautifully captures a truth that Christians then needed to understand, and we today are in need of reminding.
I think Paul is great a turning his readers' worlds upside down. For instance here, he is no doubt reminding people that among them are Roman citizens. They are endowed certain rights by Rome (whether by birth or by purchase), and these rights accord to them luxuries and esteem. But for Christians, Paul says, your citizenship is not of any nation or country, but of a kingdom not of this world (John 18:36). Unlike Roman citizens, this citizenship doesn't afford us luxuries, but calls us to a new life. Christ calls us not become his followers who will serve and not be served. Or as Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 9:8, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
If you're an American you need to understand that your first pledge is to him who says, "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance" (Isaiah 45:23). If you're British your primary service is not to the Crown, but to him who "is crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).
We have assimilated our souls to cultures that do not value the things of God. We have become so immersed in these dark places that we forget just how much Jesus stands in opposition to the ways of this world. We've traded the Fruit of the Spirit for consumerism, materialism, greed, violence, egotism and indifference. We fail to remember that Paul writes:
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; (1 Corinthians 1:27).As Christians, our lives should be such that we confound the ways of this world. When Christians heed the words of Christ and begin loving their enemies, our war torn world will come to us to learn about peace. When followers of Jesus denounce their treasures on earth in favor of their heavenly treasures, the world will come to us to learn generosity. Christians should be a burr under the saddles of the world, so irritating and extraordinary that their only response would be "give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven." Christians need to stop masquerading as citizens of this world with redeemed Sunday mornings. I pray that God would not judge us too harshly for the ways we have forgotten our first love.
